For Your Viewing Pleasure

You may remember one of Nicholas' favorite Christmas gifts from last year, the jumper. I posted a video of him jumping all around and thought it would be fun to post another video of him one year later. He still loves it to this day and his skills have become quite advanced. I don't know how he doesn't make himself sick!!

A Very Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas everyone!!! We hope your holiday was as great as ours, even though the ice and snow made it a little difficult to get around. We got up Christmas morning and brought Nicholas in to see all the presents Santa had left under the tree. He was so excited he sat down smack dab in the middle of the floor and went about checking things out.

We quickly got ourselves settled with a roaring fire in the fireplace and got busy opening the gifts. This year he really enjoyed ripping off the wrapping paper and discovering what was hidden inside! Santa brought him all kinds of little goodies, including his very own potty chair!!! I bet you didn't know this, but a potty chair is perfect for holding all your building blocks, or for standing in, or just for wearing on your head. :-)




We spent the rest of the afternoon at home relaxing and playing in the snow. We had quite a bit as you can see!

Then we decided to brave the elements and head for Mimi and Grandpa Jaggi's house for Christmas dinner. We made it safe and sound and had a terrific time eating and opening more presents!!


On Saturday, Uncle Ryan, Aunt Cindy, and Cousin Jillian made it up all the way from Texas. So we had another Christmas celebration that evening! Jillian is walking everywhere now and she's not even 11 months old yet! WOW!!!

Check back later this week for Christmas #4 highlights from Grandma & Grandpa Hawkins' house. We had to postpone until New Year's Day because Grandpa was working out of town. We can't wait!

It's Gonna Be A White Christmas!

We were dreaming of a white Christmas and that's exactly what we got...and then some. We didn't quite need all of the blizzard like conditions to go with it though! Greg's out working in this horrendous storm right now and I'll be relieved when he's safe at home later tonight. We're praying that we can still share Christmas Day with family but the festivities may have to wait until things clear up. Nicholas has really enjoyed watching his first snow storm from the window. It's like his new playhouse is calling to him from the frigid, blowing snow! We're sure glad we put it together early!

And here's the view from our front porch so far. YIKES!

We hope everyone is having a merry Christmas Eve, wherever you may be. Hopefully not stuck in the snow somewhere!!

Christmas Came Early!

Christmas came early for one little boy I know! This year we decided to go in with Mimi & Grandpa Jaggi to get Nicholas his very own playhouse for the backyard. Yes, it's tacky and no, I dont' care. He loves it and it makes him happy which is all that matters to us! It was delivered last weekend by a big freight truck and here you see him intently watching at the window. I'm sure he was thinking "That doesn't look like Santa's sleigh!"

We had some pretty nice weather today so Greg was able to get it put together for him. He ran right up to it and began climbing all over it. We tried explaining a few times that there was a door he could use but he preferred the challenging route - climbing over the little table. He was also way more excited about trying to climb up the slide instead of going down it! He's an adventurer so I'm totally not surprised. The house also came equipped with a ring toss and he quickly became obsessed with carrying the rings around. As you can see, they're present in every picture. Unfortunately, it was getting dark and cold out so we had to call it a day. He wasn't happy to leave it to say the least, but I'm sure there will be plenty more days of fun to come.

"Hmmm, what would I like for Christmas?"

A very important meeting...

I was so nervous about this year's meeting with Santa Claus that I almost decided to sacrifice it in order to preserve my sanity. But, the little voice inside my head kept urging me to give it a try and I'm so thankful I did. Waiting in line was definitely not the easiest task, but thankfully Grandma & Grandpa Hawkins went with us and gave me a few extra hands. Nicholas was probably the antsiest child there, but he was also the smallest except for the really tiny babies. He just wanted to get an up close and personal view of all the action behind the velvet ropes that were blocking him from Santa and I can't say I blame him. After a pretty short wait, it was our turn. I was so apprehensive about what his reaction to Santa was going to be this year because last year wasn't so great. At 6 months old he just didn't quite know how to handle the jolly bearded fellow. But it all turned out to be needless worry because this year went perfectly!! He ran right up to Santa with a giant grin from ear to ear, put out his little hand which Santa reached down and gave a little shake. Before I knew it, he was sitting on Santa's lap posing and eating up all the attention. The wave of relief that I felt was immense and I was so proud of my awesome little boy. Just look at that mischievous little smile! What a special memory!!

18 Months Old!

18 months old means one thing.....18 month check up at the doctor's office! As soon as we pulled in the parking lot he turned on the water works. I guess 3 months is not enough time for a toddler to forget the pain of shots. He cried quite a bit during the visit but he also laughed and played quite a bit, which was great. I was so worried about this appointment because we no longer had the trusty, pain-numbing pacifier to turn to. But the whole thing was quick and he only got one shot, then we couldn't get out the door fast enough! He weighed 27 pounds (66%) and was 33 inches long (71%). A big, healthy, energetic boy!

We've been doing a lot of Christmas decorating lately. Last weekend, Greg put all of the lights on the house and they look so awesome! We also had to buy a new tree this week because our old one didn't want to work anymore. I've been really, really nervous about putting a tree up at all this year because of Mr. Busy Hands, but I got it up yesterday and so far, so good. He's tried to check out the ornaments quite a few times but he seems to be learning "No touch. Just look." It'll be a miracle though if we get through the holidays without any broken ornaments! Here is our new tree and our pretty outdoor lights. Hope everyone is getting in the holiday spirit!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year was my first time to officially host the Thanksgiving meal and I was so excited to do it! We were able to have both of our parents here with us and it couldn't have been a more perfect meal. We had all the traditional fare except for a turkey. I went with a ham instead since I had to work earlier in the day and didn't think I would have the time to do that too. But it was delicious and the complaints of the missing turkey were kept to a minimum! :-) Here are some pictures from our evening:




Enjoying Mommy's pumpkin pie!

Unfortunately, Greg, Nicholas, and I have all been under the weather this week. We've all got the yucky head junk, but we're surviving. But one good thing has come out of it. Since Nicholas couldn't breathe through his nose, having the pacifier blocking his mouth at nap and bedtime wasn't working for him. He tried to breathe through the sides but he finally gave up and just took it out. I jumped on this and decided this was the perfect time to take it away permanently. I'd always promised myself I would start weaning him from it at 18 months, which is only a few short days away. He hasn't had it at all since Tuesday and he's doing great! There have only been a couple of times I've caught him looking for it and even then he quickly gave up. I also accidentally left it where he could reach it the other day but he just put it back without even putting it in his mouth. I think he must have been ready to say good-bye to his buddy! YAY!!!!!

We hope everyone had a very special Thanksgiving. I am so thankful this year for all the wonderful gifts I've been given in life. An awesome husband and son, family, friends, happiness, health, the list goes on and on... Now it's time for Christmas decorating! Let the fun begin!!

Fun with Aunt JuJu

We love it when Aunt Julie comes to visit! She brings so much happiness and laughter wherever she goes. Her birthday's coming up in a few weeks so as an early gift we went to see the Broadway play Little House on the Prairie that came through town. As little girls, we both thrived on that TV show and would watch it together every day after school. So it had a very special meaning for us both. The show was really great and we had a wonderful girls' night. Nicholas had so much fun playing with her and didn't want to see her go...and neither did his Mommy. Where does the time go???? We are so very lucky to have her and we love her so much.

Nicholas in disguise!

Now that's what I call priceless!

Feeding the ducks

It was a little cold this afternoon but we took a walk down to the pond to feed the ducks anyway. Nicholas started out generously handing over the bread, but it didn't take long for him to realize it was a lot more fun to make them chase him for their food! He isn't a man of many words just yet, but he has added "duck" to his growing repertoire. If you listen closely, you can hear him saying it at the end of the video. He loves anything to do with animals and he was pretty upset when it was time to go back home.

Sleepy Boy #2

I can't post 2 videos on one entry, so here's the second one...

This is a first...

17 Months Old!

Here's our boy at 17 months old! I remember just a few short months ago when he barely fit in this swing.

Happy Halloween!

Nicholas' 2nd Halloween has come and gone and I would put this one down as a major success! The story of his costume still makes me laugh today and I've been waiting to share this picture for so long! We bought his original costume back in September, but we didn't exactly get the reaction we were hoping for...

So, we had to come up with an alternate plan - Dallas Cowboys football player! I was a little worried at first that it would look too plain, but you can put him in pretty much anything and he automatically raises the cute factor by 110%! I think it turned out great!

Halloween evening was just perfect. Cousin Jillian was in town visiting so they both got to go trick or treating together and were quite an adorable pair. For Jillian's first Halloween, her mommy made her a precious ladybug costume that got tons of oohs and awes from everyone!

We started out the evening at Mimi & Grandpa Jaggi's house taking a gaggle of pictures, then we were off. Our first stop was Trick or Treat on the Street in downtown Edmond. It was packed with families all out enjoying the beautiful weather and the costume watching. There were some really great ones! While we were there we got to see Nicholas' friends Max, the gnome, and Kacee, the doctor. Both of them looked awesome! But, I was a bad mommy and forgot my camera so I have no pictures of them together like last year. :-( After that, Nicholas and I went trick or treating at Grandma and Grandpa Hawkins' house. Unfortunately, Grandpa was out of town working, but he had picked out a special toy that Nicholas LOVED!

This weekend was so much fun and we had the greatest time. We were so happy that Ryan, Cindy, and ever fabulous Jillian could be here with us. She's got a smile that can definitely melt your heart!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Arbuckle Wilderness Adventure

Yesterday was a gorgeous day so we took an impromptu trip to Davis, OK for a drive through Arbuckle Wilderness. If you're not familiar with it, it's one of those exotic animal parks where you can feed the animals from your vehicle. There were tons of emus, llamas, camels, zebras, giraffes, and deer. At first we tried to let Nicholas sit on our laps in the front but he was way more enthused about all the buttons he could push. He would occasionally look up and see the animals poking their heads in the window, which gave him quite a good chuckle, but then it was right back to the buttons. Here he is "driving" with Daddy. Notice the tongues? Like father like son!

Things were much smoother after buckling him back into his car seat. Well, for a little while anyway! About 3.5 seconds after this picture, the pooh-pooh hit the fan.

Camel #1 was joined by his accessory, camel #2, and they both decided they were going to infiltrate our truck. Nicholas thought this was just hilarious and was sticking his finger out to say "hi" when we jumped into panic mode as they were only inches away from him. Greg quickly tried to roll up the window and one of the attack camels got his neck caught in the window. Before Greg was able to lower it back down, the camel forced his way out, knocking the window off the track. We made a safe getaway, but the damage had been done. Now we're stuck about halfway through the park, where it's strictly forbidden to exit your vehicles, with a window that won't roll up next to our very small child. Luckily, the rest of the drive was uneventful and we continued to have a good time. WHEW! Here are a few more pictures from our adventure.
And I just wanted to throw this cute one in for fun. This is Nicholas trying to fit into his Daddy's shoes. Good try, babe!